Wow Factor

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They say that first impressions are everything, and I don't always make good first impressions. Some of the reasons for this I purposed as litmus tests, but the rest of it really revolves around the fact that I don't really care. I know who I am and what I offer, and if you don't like that, it doesn't mean you reject me. In other words, it isn't necessarily personal, and I reserve the right to be selective about with what and whom I choose to surround myself just as they do. An assistant manager at the local Wal-mart who was recently divorced told me on Valentine's Day this year that he feels someone really has to be pretty spectacular for him to change his new habits and relationship status. I am inclined to agree that the wow factor makes a great deal in making one choice seem better than another. The problem seems to be in what each of us considers worthy of wow.

So much of our popular culture seems to revolve around the wow factor. You look at the contestants on reality shows like Survivor or the Batchelor, and it's not people who are of good character but who are characters who dominate. I cannot recall a single Batchelor/Batchelorette (not that I watch) who was homely or average. The contestants are all dressed to the nines and put on their best behavior during the dating and courtship. Then there's Shark Tank in which the contestants have about 10 minutes it seems to convince people to invest in their business. It's all about the wow. Not to mention American Idol where it's all about opinions of the viewers rather than real talent (as if that's easy to measure) or Olympic ice skating where you can fall but still be flashy and win a gold medal. It's not about verity to principles or talent as much as it revolves around how you impress some subjective judges. We all seem to desire to be wowed.

While hiking in Zion after Valentine's Day, my friend and I were pursued by two attractive young ladies. We passed them on the trail when they stopped for a snack, and they worked very hard to catch up with us. After a few minutes conversation once they did, they fell back and kept a steady distance. Apparently they heard or saw something they didn't like or that wasn't wow enough for them and thought the better of it. They don't really know what they're missing, not because I think I'm all that special but because they didn't bother to learn about us for longer than a minute or so. I have seen so many people around me make quick judgments not because of something great or small they saw but because they were not wowed. Even my paternal grandmother told me about a year ago that she thinks the young ladies in my own Faith look to be entertained more than they look to be well matched. They want to be wowed and don't care if I consider them worthy of wow.

I don't really wow people. When I was interviewed to be a Chemistry Professor, I wowed the Department Chair because I look really good on paper. I showed up for my interview much to her surprise younger and less flamboyant than she expected based on my curriculum vitae. Mostly people have to get to know me in order to be wowed. I have an old coworker who told me how glad she was that work forced her to get to know me, because she would not have done so any other way and felt it would have been a real loss. I drive an ugly car, live in a modest home, earn a modest but comfortable income, and engage in a modest life that revolves around family and the outdoors. It's not really all that exciting, but one young lady who wrote me off because she thought I was a hermit didn't seem bothered by facts. The fact is that what I did didn't wow her; then again what she has become doesn't wow me either. I think her husband, her vocation, her location, and her life are pretty mediocre.

Maybe it's because what wows me isn't what wows others. Since I work with university/college students, I am surrounded constantly by attractive young ladies. Mostly, they are only good as something at which to look. Far too many of them are interested in the vacuous or the lascivious, and even when there's not inner ugliness waiting to emerge, usually there's nothing more to them than their colorful candy shell. Yeah, I prefer to date a woman whom I find attractive, but if she's not good company, good conversation, of good upbringing, interested in good activities, and of good morals, I'm not really interested. One great irony is that the most debauched among them are attracted to me, but I suppose that's just because opposites attract, so what else should I expect to find in my company but a large proportion of suitors at whom I wouldn't glance a second time.

Contrary to popular belief, most people are not really that unique or special. Some redundant personalities are exceptionally relevant or important. However, if you ask people to rank themselves based on their looks, their acumen, or their potential, most people will say they are above average, and statistically we know that on average half of the people are below average. I'm ok with the fact that I am probably closer to average looks than I would like, because I see plenty of people out shopping who make me feel grateful for the body and circumstances I possess! I meet a lot of nice people at school, on the hiking trails, and elsewhere, but they just aren't worthy of wow. They're nice. They're not unique. What they offer doesn't wow me because they don't do anything that the rest of the kitten caboodle doesn't do too.

I'm very popular with women around the age of 50. Perhaps it's because I was raised with the values and circumstances similar to people in that age bracket, but it's rare that I see, as I did today, a woman in her early 20s feel out of place because she isn't interested in following the devil's commandments. My hiking buddy, who is himself 50, told me that I'm more of a peer than anyone else he really knows. He also told me that I am what women should want, and in truth I'm what they say they want, but in the end, they don't pick me even if I am wow. Maybe they don't believe me. Maybe they don't believe their own rhetoric. That's another story.

I know what wow looks like. I saw vistas and sunsets and meteor storms in the last year that made me marvel at the majesty of the universe. I met and loved women who wowed me because they loved God, loved the idea of family, and loved themselves enough to love me. I felt the stillness of an arctic mountain top, the terror of a first time flight experience, and the majesty of holding my first niece in my arms. I heard the bells on Christmas Day, the call of a wolf, and the soft landing of snow in the middle of nowhere. I know how to recognize wow. It's not in trinkets and beads, in makeup and cologne, in vestments or accommodations, in physique or wealth. For me, Simplicity is Worthy of Wow. Watching a child pray, a dog play, a sun set, or an old man laugh might sound simple to you, but they are what elevate my life and adorn what to me is Worthy of Wow. Sure, your mortal coil might strike me as attractive, but if that's where the wow ends, what do you offer that exceeds what others offer? What makes you unique? Why should I consider you special?

We usually pick what really wows us. Whatever else we say, the ways in which we spend our time, spend each dime, and with which we entwine our lives show what we really seek. Ironically enough, many of these reality shows illustrate that what the world wows is of little worth. How many of you can name a Survivor winner, an American Idol who is financially successful, or a Batchelor who found true love? It's a farce because it's not really wow worthy. It's a substitute, a counterfeit, that offers semblance without substance and does not satisfy. Maybe that's why people continue to crave them. We're all really looking for what wows us and hoping to find it in a place that cannot provide it because it's just supposed to hint at what we truly desire.

That's why for me and for this blog I continue to return to my Maker. Oh Lord, My God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made. I see the stars; I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe is displayed. How great thou art. I stand all amazed, in awe, at all the things my Maker does that are Worthy of Wow. That's why my Faith and shared faith with people matters so much to me. I seek people who consider the same things Worthy of Wow that I do. It's why I will probably go see Noah, despite its political bent, because I find it awesome that God did for Noah what He did. I also find it Worthy of Wow that his wife stood by his side. I wish I knew more about her and people like her who defied the norm and went down in history for being special and superior because they were willing to do and be what other people only dream.